Light beam scanning apparatus

ABSTRACT

A light beam scanning apparatus has a rotatable polygonal mirror member for scanning a light beam.[.,.]. .Iadd.and .Iaddend.a rotary shaft.[., means for holding the rotary shaft and the rotatable polygonal mirror member.]. .Iadd.that are held .Iaddend.integrally, .[.means.]. .Iadd.a support .Iaddend.for rotatably supporting the rotary shaft, .[.drive means.]. .Iadd.a driver .Iaddend.for rotating the rotary shaft, the .[.drive means.]. .Iadd.drover .Iaddend.having a rotatable member having a magnet and made integral with the rotary shaft, and a coil member provided on the rotary shaft side with respect to the rotatable member so as to be opposed to the magnet, and .[.means.]. .Iadd.a holder .Iaddend.for holding the coil member on the body of the apparatus.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to an apparatus for scanning a light beam such asa laser beam. The field to which the present invention is particularlysuited is a recording apparatus such as a copying apparatus or a printerwhich uses a light beam to accomplish image formation.

2. Description of the Prior Art

There has heretofore been utilized a light beam scanning apparatus of.[.the.]. .Iadd.a .Iaddend.construction as shown in FIG. 1 of theaccompanying drawings wherein a rotatable polygonal mirror is fixedlyheld on a rotary shaft and deflects a light beam.

The construction of FIG. 1 will hereinafter be described briefly, InFIG. 1, reference numeral 1 designates a well-known rotatable polygonalmirror member having side surfaces as mirror surfaces, reference numeral2 denotes a rotary shaft, and reference numeral 5 designates a rotatingdevice (hereinafter referred to as the motor) as rotary shaft drivingmeans.

In the construction of FIG. 1, the rotary shaft 2 is supported bybearing members 7 and 8 such as ball bearings provided in the immovableportions 17 and 18, respectively, of the casing 6 of the rotating device5. The motor 5 has a stator 10 mounted on the inner wall of the casing 6and having a stator coil 9, and a rotor magnet 11 mounted on the rotaryshaft 2. By .[.a.]. power being supplied to the stator coil 9, themagnet 11 is rotated with the shaft 2, whereby the polygonal mirrormember 1 is rotated and scans a light beam.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 12 designates a compression springpositioned between an immovable portion 16 in the casing 6 and thebearing member 8. Reference numeral 13 denotes a rotation detecting diskmounted on the rotary shaft, reference numeral 14 designates a rotationdetecting sensor, and reference numeral 15 denotes a set screw forfixing the rotatable polygonal mirror member to the rotary shaft.

The use of the light beam scanning apparatus of this type causes theimage or the beam to be disturbed by a repeated use.Iadd., .Iaddend.andhigh-speed rotation of such apparatus also causes the image or the beamto be disturbed. The problem that.Iadd., .Iaddend.due to suchdisturbance, the image to be formed is not obtained or the beam is notproperly scanned has been difficult to overcome. Such .Iadd.a.Iaddend.difficult problem has several basic causes. The main ones ofthese causes are the surface fall of the polygonal mirror resulting fromthe difficulty encountered in adjustment of unbalance and the adherenceof lubricant to the polygonal mirror which .[.occurs from.]. .Iadd.isthrown off by .Iaddend.the bearing members. The surface fall is theirregularity of each mirror surface relative to a certain referencesurface when a laser beam emitted from a predetermined position isscanned onto a light-receiving member such as a photosensitive medium bythe reflection of the rotatable polygonal mirror. Specifically, as shownin FIG. 2 of the accompanying drawings, a beam emitted from a laserdevice is reflected by a mirror surface 1a of the rotatable polygonalmirror 1 and reaches a photosensitive medium 3, and in that case, if themirror surface 1a causes great irregularity as indicated by 1b relativeto the reference surface, the position of the beam 4 scanned onto thephotosensitive medium 3 differs as indicated by 4b from mirror surfaceto mirror surface and therefore, the irregularity appears as pitchirregularity of the image or the image disappears.

In FIGS. 2a, 2b and 2c of the accompanying drawings, the deformation ofthe rotatable polygonal mirror 1 when .Iadd.it is .Iaddend.mounted onthe rotary shaft is indicated by .Iadd.a .Iaddend.broken line.

To mount the well-known rotatable polygonal mirror member 1 having sidesurfaces as mirror surfaces onto the rotary shaft 2 operativelyassociated with a rotative driving device, there would occur to mindfixing devices as shown in FIGS. 2a, 2b and 2c. The fixing device shownin FIG. 2a is such that receiving member 19 having a receiving surface19a orthogonal to the rotary shaft 2 is fixedly mounted on the rotaryshaft 2 and the rotatable polygonal mirror member 1 is fixed to thereceiving member 19 by means of three .[.to.]. .Iadd.or .Iaddend.fourscrews 15a. In such a structure, deformation is caused between thevicinity of the portions of the rotatable polygonal mirror member whichare fixed by the screws and the portions which are not fixed by thescrews, and this in turn may cause the surface fall. The fixing deviceshown in FIG. 2b is such that to prevent the occurrence of the surfacefall in the structure shown in FIG. 2a, rigid ring plates 20 areinterposed between the heads of the fixing screws 15a and the rotatablepolygonal mirror member 1, and again in this case, the surface fallsimilar to that in the case of FIG. 2a occurs more or less. Also, in thecase of FIG. 2a, the irregularity of the fastening torques of the screwsdirectly affects the surface fall. The fixing device shown in FIG. 2c issuch that the boss portion 1b of the rotatable polygonal mirror member 1is threaded and the polygonal mirror member is fixed to the rotary shaft2 by a set screw 15, and again in this case, the surface fall occurs dueto the backlash with respect to the rotary shaft 2. Also, where a formsimilar to that shown in FIG. 2c is adopted and the rotatable polygonalmirror member 1 is fixed to the rotary shaft 2 not by screws but by anadhesive agent, the same result occurs due to the irregularity or thelike of the adhesive agent.

Where the rotatable polygonal mirror member is thus fixed by means ofscrews or the like, the unbalance during rotation becomes particularlygreat and therefore, adjustment of such unbalance becomes necessary.However, the unbalance is greatly varied simply by turning the screwsseveral times and therefore, the adjustment of the unbalance is.[.highly.]. .Iadd.very .Iaddend.difficult, and this leads toirregularity of products and increased manufacturing cost. In addition,the apparatus becomes bulky to achieve the stability of rotation andaccordingly becomes heavy in weight.

Thus, compact, light-weight light beam scanning apparatuses have beendesired and moreover, apparatuses which are high in scanning accuracyand capable of effecting beam scanning at high speeds have been desiredeagerly from the viewpoint of enhanced recording speed as well.

In the construction of the rotating device as described above, a part ofthe bearing member 7 is exposed to the rotatable polygonal mirror member1 side and oil mist 21 created from the lubricant in the bearing 7 withrotation scatters outwardly during rotation of the shaft, whereby theoil mist adheres to the mirror surfaces of the rotatable polygonalmirror member 1, and this has resulted in the reduced reflection factorof the polygonal mirror member. To prevent this, sealing such asmagnetic seal or labyrinth is provided near the bearing member, but theeffect thereof is not sufficient when viewed from the viewpoint oflong-time use and in the apparatuses of the high-speed rotation type,accurate scanning of the beam is difficult and image vibration is liableto occur.

In the past, there has been no light beam scanning apparatus which canprevent the reduction in scanning accuracy resulting from such cause andmoreover, there has been no light beam scanning apparatus which can bemade compact.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention chiefly intends to improve the aforedescribed beamscanning accuracy and rationally solve each or all of the above-notedproblems.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a light beamscanning apparatus which maintains good scanning accuracy even if itscans a light beam at a high speed.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a compact lightbeam scanning apparatus which is capable of effecting high-speedscanning.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a lightbeam scanning apparatus which permits the final adjustment duringassemblage of parts to be simplified or almost eliminated.

It is yet still another object of the present invention to provide alight beam scanning apparatus in which the surface vibration and surfacefall of the polygonal mirror and/or .[.stain.]. .Iadd.contaminants.Iaddend.such as oil mist which will reduce the scanning accuracy can beprevented.

Other objects of the present invention will become apparent from thefollowing detailed description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a light beam scanning apparatusaccording to the prior art;

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of a recording apparatus to which alight beam scanning apparatus is applied;

FIGS. 2a, 2b and 2c illustrate the disadvantages peculiar to theconventional methods of mounting a rotatable polygonal mirror;

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates the shape of a resilient member 22 shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 illustrates the mounting of the resilient member 22 onto a rotaryshaft 2;

FIGS. 7 to 9 illustrate various embodiments of the holding means of therotatable polygonal mirror member according to the present invention;and

FIG. 10 illustrates still another embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Before embodiments of the present invention are described by referenceto FIGS. 3 to 10, an example of the recording apparatus to which thepresent invention is applicable will be described briefly by referenceto FIG. 2.

The aforedescribed rotatable polygonal mirror member 1 is fixed to therotary shaft 2 by holding means to be described and is stably driven bydrive means to be described. A light beam modulated by a signal to berecorded from a laser device 30 enters the rotatable polygonal mirrormember 1. The light beam is scanned by rotation of the polygonal mirrorand the scanned light beam enters a light-receiving member 3 such as aphotosensitive medium and records a desired image.

A uniformly charged surface is preformed on the light-receiving member 3such as a photosensitive medium by conventional cleaning means 28 andcharging means 29 acting thereon. Thereafter, as the light-receivingmember 3 is rotated, the light beam 4 is applied thereto andsimultaneously therewith, secondary charging means 31 acts to form alatent image, whereafter the latent image is developed into a visibleimage by developing means 32. The visible image is transferred to arecording medium such as paper by means 33 for transfer or transfersimultaneously with fixing.

Now, a feature of the construction for stabilizing the light beam 4 isthat, as shown in FIG. 3, outer-rotor-type drive means 41 is applied tothe rotatable polygonal mirror member 1. As can be seen in .[.FIG. 2.]..Iadd.FIG. 1 .Iaddend.is compared with FIG. 3, in FIG. 3, a coil memberhaving a stator 35 as an immovable portion and a stator coil 34 isprovided near the rotary shaft 2, and an outer rotor 36 as a rotatablemember made integral with a magnet 37 as a movable portion is madeintegral with the rotary shaft by a coupling portion 36a, the magnet 37being disposed in opposed relationship with the stator coil 34. If theouter-rotor-type drive means 41 is thus used, the height of the body ofthe light beam scanning apparatus can be decreased and in addition,rotation of the rotatable polygonal mirror 1 can be stabilized, becausethe outer rotor 36 creates a great moment of inertia. Thus, the surfacevibration of the rotatable polygonal mirror member 1 can be preventedconsiderably.

The construction of FIG. 3 will be described in more detail and theembodiment of FIG. 4 will also be described.

The rotary shaft 2 is two-point-supported by a bearing member 7 providedin the immovable portion 17 of the drive means 41 and positioned betweenthe rotor 36 and the rotatable polygonal mirror member 1 and a bearingmember 8 positioned within the rotor 36 and fixed to an inner cylinder39 which in turn is fixed to the center of a casing 6. The stator 35provided with the stator coil 34 is mounted on the outer wall of theinner cylinder 39, and the rotor magnet 37 is mounted on the inner wallof the outer cylinder 36b of the rotor 36 which is concentric with theinner cylinder 39, the upper wall of the rotor being secured to therotary shaft 2 by means of a coupling portion 36a. By the coil 34 beingsupplied with a power from power supply means, not shown, the rotor 36is rotated with the shaft 2, whereby the polygonal mirror member 1 isalso rotated with the shaft 2 to thereby scan the light beam. Designatedby 38 is a compression spring positioned between the bearing member 8and the coupling portion 36a of the outer rotor 36 to control the up anddown movement of the outer rotor. Reference numeral 13 designates arotation detecting disk attached to the lower end of the rotary shaft,and reference numeral 14 denotes a rotation detecting sensor whichcontrols the rotation of the polygonal mirror member by rotation controlmeans, not shown.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment substantially similar to that shown in FIG.3. In FIG. 3 the rotor 36 holding the rotor magnet 37 is surrounded bythe casing 6 of the drive device and the upper bearing member 7 isexposed on the rotatable polygonal mirror member side and therefore, oilmist .[.of.]. .Iadd.created from .Iaddend.the lubricating oil within thebearing member 7 may scatter toward the rotatable polygonal mirrormember as indicated by arrows during rotation of the shaft 2 to.[.stain.]. .Iadd.adhere to .Iaddend.the polygonal mirror member andreduce the reflection factor thereof, thereby causing a reduced scanningcharacteristic such as density irregularity of image. In contrast, inthe embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the rotor 36 holding the rotor magnet 37is secured to and made integral with the rotary shaft 2 so as toposition the bearing member 7 on the side opposite to the rotatablepolygonal mirror member 1 and both of the bearing members 7 and 8 arecovered by the rotor 36 and therefore, oil mist created from within thebearing member 7 only scatters in the lower portion of the device thanthe rotor 36 as a rotatable member, as indicated by arrows. Accordingly,the oil mist does not scatter toward the rotatable polygonal mirrormember 1 to stain the mirror surfaces thereof because the bearingmembers 7 and 8 supplied with lubricant and the rotatable polygonalmirror member are substantially shielded from each other by the rotor36.

Also, in FIG. 3, a receiving member 40 having a receiving surface 40aorthogonal to the rotary shaft 2 is fixedly mounted on the shaft 2, andthe mounting reference surface 1c of the rotatable polygonal mirrormember 1 fitted onto the rotary shaft is caused to bear against thecircular receiving surface 40a of the receiving member 40. Moreover, inthe central inner diametral portion near the shaft, the central portionof the polygonal mirror member 1 is resiliently pressed by a resilientmember 22 as pressing means restrained by the rotary shaft 2, and therotatable polygonal mirror member 1 is held between the resilient member22 and the receiving member 40, whereby the rotatable polygonal mirrormember 1 is fixed on the rotary shaft 2. That is, the polygonal mirrormember 1 is integrally and fixedly held to both of the receiving member40 and the shaft 2 by the friction force between the polygonal mirrormember and the receiving surface 40a of the receiving member 40. By themember 1 being thus fixed to the rotary shaft in such a manner that itis held between the resilient member and the positioning member, nounreasonable force is applied to the polygonal mirror member 1, nor anymounting backlash is created and therefore, the aforementioned surfacefall does not occur and thus, good image recording and stable beamscanning become possible.

In FIG. 4, the receiving surface as the positioning surface of thepositioning member is provided on the end wall of the rotor 36 holdingthe rotor magnet 37 so that the rotor 36 itself serves also as thereceiving member. That is, a receiving surface 36c orthogonal to therotary shaft 2 is formed on the inner end surface of the rotor 36 whichfaces the rotary shaft, and the mounting reference surface 1c of therotatable polygonal mirror member 1 is caused to bear against thereceiving surface 36c and moreover, the rotatable polygonal mirrormember 1 is held between a resilient member 22 similar to that shown inFIG. 3 and the rotor 36, whereby the rotatable polygonal mirror member 1is fixedly held on the rotary shaft 2. Thus, the center of gravity ofthe rotatable body including the rotatable member and the polygonalmirror member becomes further lower and therefore, the stability ofrotation can be further improved and further compactness of theapparatus can be achieved.

Also, in FIGS. 3 and 4, the radius of each member with the center 0 ofthe rotary shaft 2 as the reference is set in a predeterminedrelationship for stabilizing the rotation of the rotatable polygonalmirror member 1.

First is the relationship between the outer rotor 36 and the rotatablepolygonal mirror member 1. In the above-described apparatus, the outerrotor 36 has its cross-section with respect to the direction of therotary shaft formed substantially in an inverted U-shape, that is,formed by an outer cylinder 36b forming a cylindrical portion and theupper lid 36d of this outer cylinder 36b. In the outer rotor 36 of suchshape, the radius of gyration thereof is one half of the outsidediameter L of the outer cylinder 36b and if the radius of gyration ofthe rotatable polygonal mirror member 1 is one half of the outsidediameter 1 thereof, there is the relation that L/2>1/2, that is L>1.This leads to the effect of endowing not the polygonal mirror member 1but the other rotatable member 36 with a great moment of inertia andalleviating the degree of unbalance created in the polygonal mirrormember 1 and the holding means therefor.

The radius of gyration of the rotatable polygonal mirror member 1 mayalso be one half of the distance 1' from a mirror to the mirror opposedthereto.

Second is the relationship of size between the rotatable polygonalmirror member 1 and the positioning surface. The mounting referencesurface 1c of the member 1 is subjected to surface working ofconsiderably high accuracy, but there occurs a surface fall even if itis accurately held by the holding means, and this has sometimes led toreduced beam scanning accuracy. As a result of a detailed study, it hasbeen found that making the positioning surface larger than the mountingreference surface of the polygonal mirror member to increase thestability rather creates great irregularity of each product under theinfluence of the mirror edge portion. That is, it has often beenexperienced that the edge portion of the polygonal mirror member 1 whichis frequently handled is deformed by striking against another part forsome reason or other and after all, it cannot be stably mounted on thepositioning surface.

To solve such a problem, only the vicinity of the center of rotation ofthe polygonal mirror member 1 is made into the mounting referencesurface corresponding to the positioning surface. That is, thepositioning surface is provided on that side of the rotary shaft whichis inside the radius of gyration 1/2 (preferably 1/2') of the polygonalmirror member 1. The radius 11/2 when the positioning surface is madeinto a circular flat surface surrounding the rotary shaft 2 shouldsuitably be smaller than 1/2 (or 1/2'). It is important for improvingthe stability that the positioning surface is a flat surface surroundingthe rotary shaft 2.

Third is the relationship between the resilient member 22 as thepressing member and the positioning surface. The inventors haveconfirmed that the great factor for preventing the surface vibration andsurface fall of the rotatable polygonal mirror member lies in the memberprovided around the polygonal mirror member. That is, as the outsidediameter of the member which is in direct contact with or imparts asextraneous pressure to the rotatable polygonal mirror member is smallerthan the outside diameter of the polygonal mirror member itself and suchmember is more concentrated at the central portion whereat the rotaryshaft lies, the degree of influence upon rotation becomes smaller.However, it has also been confirmed that such member being concentratedsimply at the central portion is not sufficient but the followingcondition must be satisfied.

That is, in the embodiments as shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 7-10 wherein thepolygonal mirror member is held between the positioning surface and thepressing member (not fastened by bolts), the acting surface by which thepressing member presses the polygonal mirror member should optimally beinside the positioning surface, .Iadd.and .Iaddend.preferably besubstantially coincident with the outside diameter of the positioningsurface. If FIG. 4 is used, this may be shown by the fact that theoutside diameter 1₁ of the circular positioning surface and the outsidediameter 1₀ of the resilient member are in the relation that 1₁ >1₀,preferably 1₁ ≈1₀.

That is, it is preferable that the acting surface on which the pressingmeans acts and the surface which the positioning surface supports be ina mutually corresponding relationship (the acting surface ≧thesupporting surface) and be infinitely in the relationship that theacting surface=the supporting surface, the portion at the outsidediameter thereof.

The above-described first, second and third relationships of magnitudeindividually achieve an excellent effect, and a combination of any twoof these relationships leads to a more excellent result and acombination of all the three relationships exhibits even more excellentstability and can eliminate or simplify the adjustment of unbalance andcan make the assemblage very easy.

The fixed state of the rotatable polygonal mirror member 1 of FIGS. 3.[.or.]. .Iadd.and .Iaddend.4 will hereinafter be described in detail inthe order of assemblage. First, the receiving member 40 (FIG. 3) or therotor 36 (FIG. 4) is press-fitted to the rotary shaft 2. Subsequently,to provide the accuracy of the perpendicularity of the receiving surface40a (or 36c) which receives the rotatable polygonal mirror member 1,secondary working of the receiving surface 40a is effected with therotary shaft 2 as a guide. Then, the rotatable polygonal mirror member 1is mounted so that the mounting reference surface 1c thereof and thereceiving surface 40a (or 36c) face each other, whereafter the resilientmember 22 is pushed in while being pressed from above it.

FIG. 5 shows a detailed enlarged view of the resilient member 22. Asshown, the resilient member 22 comprises a disk-like resilient member(push nut) in which the diameter d₁ of the opening in the central insidediameter portion fitted to the rotary shaft before mounting is smallerthan the diameter d of the rotary shaft and which has several splits 22aprovided radially thereof and a flat disk surface portion 22c. Thisresilient member is pushed in from one end of the rotary shaft 2, asindicated by .Iadd.an .Iaddend.arrow .Iadd.in .Iaddend.FIG. 6. Thediameter d₁ of the inner opening of the resilient member 22 is smallerthan the diameter d of the rotary shaft 2, but since the several splits22a are provided radially from the inside diameter portion of theresilient member, the resilient member may be mounted simply by applyinga certain degree of pressure thereto due to the springy property of theportion 22b thereof which fits on the rotary shaft 2 when it is pushedin from above. After the rotatable polygonal mirror member 1 has beenheld down by the resilient member as shown in FIG. 7, the flat disksurface portion 22c presses the member 1 and the portion 22b eats intothe rotary shaft 2, and a considerable thrust force is uniformly appliedto the periphery of the rotary and 2 and in the circumferentialdirection of the rotatable polygonal mirror member 1, so that therotatable polygonal mirror member 1 is secured without being deformed.In this case, the aforementioned thrust force is of course sufficientfor the rotary shaft and the rotatable polygonal mirror member to becapable of rotating together.

In FIG. 7, the diameter 1' of the polygonal mirror member 1 is muchsmaller than the diameter L of the outer rotor 36, and the outsidediameter 1₃ of the flat disk surface portion 22c of the resilient member22 as the pressing means is made coincident with the outside diameter ofthe positioning surface 36c.

In the above-described embodiment, the resilient member is restrained onthe rotary shaft at the inner end of the portion 22b thereof and thereference surface of the rotatable polygonal mirror member is urgedagainst the receiving surface by the resiliency of the resilient memberitself. In contrast, embodiments in which the restraining portion as thecontrol means for the rotary shaft and the resilient member are madediscrete from each other are shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, the resilient member comprises acompression spring 23, and a restraining member 24 (e.g., an E-ring orthe like) for restraining the compression spring on the rotary shaft 2at the center thereof is provided. The restraining member 24 acts as theupper limit control means of the spring 23 and applies the thrust forceof the spring 23 to the rotatable polygonal mirror member 1. Thus, toimpart a uniform thrust force to the rotatable polygonal mirror member,a keep ring 25 formed of a rigid material is provided so as to intervenebetween the compression spring 23 and the rotatable polygonal mirrormember.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 9, the resilient member 23 and keep ring25 of FIG. 8 are likewise provided and instead of the restraining member24 of FIG. 8, a disk-like resilient member (push nut) 26 as shown inFIG. 9 is used. In a case where the push nut alone is provided, auniform pressure force is required during the mounting of the push nutin order that the rotatable polygonal mirror member and the push nut maybe completely in intimate contact with each other, but in the case ofFIG. 9, a positioning member 27 fitted to the rotary shaft is providedin contact with the rotatable polygonal mirror member 1. Even if thepush nut is obliquely mounted, this mounting is effected through theprojected restraining portion 27a of the positioning member 27, theresilient member 23 and the keep ring 25 and therefore, a uniform forceis applied to the rotatable polygonal mirror member, which is thussecured without being deformed. In this case, one of variousmembers.Iadd., .Iaddend.such as cylindrically shaped rubber and .Iadd.a.Iaddend.wave washer.Iadd., .Iaddend.can be used as the resilientmember. Also, working and adhesive fixing may of course be used withsaid means so as not to impart distortion to the polygonal mirrormember.

As described above, the reference surface of the rotatable polygonalmirror member is caused to strike against the receiving surface of thereceiving member whose accuracy (perpendicularity) relative to therotary shaft is sufficiently guaranteed and the rotatable polygonalmirror member is held by the resilient member to which a thrust force isuniformly applied in the circumferential direction and therefore,deformation (surface fall) of the rotatable polygonal mirror member isprevented and control of the screw fastening torque is unnecessary inconstruction, and this leads to obtainment of the effect that theproductivity during assemblage and manufacture is improved.

Further, in FIGS. 8 and 9, the area of the acting surface on which thepressing means 24, 23, 25 acts, i.e., the area in which the keep ring 25bears against the rotatable polygonal mirror member 1 (or the area inwhich the keep ring 25 and the positioning member 27 bear against themember 1) is equal to the area of the positioning surface and theoutside diameters are coincident with each other, i.e., 1₄. Aspreviously described, the embodiments of FIGS. 8 and 9 have the thirdrelation of magnitude and therefore ensure more stable rotation.

FIG. 10 shows an example of the apparatus which is particularly high instability and degree of uniform pressurization and in which surface falland surface vibration are prevented.Iadd., .Iaddend.and compactness,prevention of adherence of oil mist and ease of assemblage have all beenrealized. Basically, this apparatus is the same as the embodiment ofFIG. 4 in the drive device 5 and in that it satisfies all of the first,second and third relationships of magnitude.

The structural difference between FIG. 4 and FIG. 10 resides in thepressing means for fixing the reference surface of the rotatablepolygonal mirror member 1 into intimate contact with the positioningsurface.

In FIG. 10, the pressing means provided at the center of rotation uses awave washer 43 as the resilient member, and has a sleeve 45 providedwith a restraining portion 45a projected to press the wave washer 43 anda C-ring 44 for controlling the upper limit movement thereof. The wavewasher 43 is so positioned as to directly press the rotatable polygonalmirror member, and the sleeve 45 is slightly spaced apart from therotatable polygonal mirror member by the resiliency of the wave washer43 when its upper limit movement is controlled by the C-ring 44.However, the sleeve 45 may be brought into contact with the polygonalmirror member if the pressure of contact P between the sleeve 45 and themember 1 and the pressure of contact Q between the wave washer 43 andthe member 1 satisfy the relationship that P≦Q.

The diameter of the acting surface by which the wave washer 43resiliently presses the rotatable polygonal mirror member 1 issubstantially coincident with the diameter of the positioning surface36c. Thus, the distortion of the rotatable polygonal mirror memberbecomes minimum.

The effects of the sleeve 45 are: (1) it acts as the guide of the wavewasher (resilient member) to eliminate eccentricity and prevent theoccurrence of unbalance; and (2) it can determine the amount ofcontraction of the wave washer constantly and therefore can control thepressure force of the rotatable polygonal mirror member at apredetermined value and can prevent any excessive distortion.

It is practically preferable to determine the aforementioned first,second and third relations of magnitude and the weight of each member soas to satisfy the following condition: ##EQU1## where ω: rotationalangular speed of the motor of the drive means (rad/sec.)

γ: radius in which unbalance exists (mm)

w: unbalance weight (g)

W: total weight of the rotating member (Kg).

Now, simply from the viewpoint of oil mist adherence prevention, asshown in FIGS. 4 and 10, use can be made of a method of securing therotatable polygonal mirror member to the end wall of the rotor by meansof set screws, a method of adhesively securing the rotatable polygonalmirror member to the end wall of the rotor or other suitable fixingmethod.

In the above-described constructions of FIGS. 3 and 10, the end wall ofthe rotor is securely fitted to the rotary shaft outside the bearingportion and therefore, the bearing is not exposed on the rotatablepolygonal mirror member side. Accordingly, the oil mist 21 created inthe bearing portion scatters toward the interior of the rotor 36, thatis, does not go out of the bearing portion .[.to stain.]. .Iadd.andadhere to .Iaddend.the mirror surfaces of the rotatable polygonal mirrormember and thus, there is no possibility of reducing the reflectionfactor of the mirror surfaces. Also, it is not always necessary toprovide a packing such as a labyrinth or a magnetic seal, and this leadsto improved productivity during assemblage or manufacture.

The present invention is not restricted to the abovedescribedembodiments, but it covers all of embodiments based on the technique ofthe present invention, as well as any combinations of the abovedescribedembodiments.

What is claimed is:
 1. A light beam scanning apparatus comprising:arotatable polygonal mirror member for scanning a light beam; a rotaryshaft; means for holding said rotary shaft and said rotatable polygonalmirror member integrally; means for rotatably supporting said rotaryshaft; drive means for rotating said rotary shaft, said drive meanshaving a rotatable member having a magnet and made integral with saidrotary shaft, and a coil member provided on the rotary shaft side withrespect to said rotatable member so as to be opposed to said magnet; andmeans for securing said coil member to the body of said apparatus.
 2. Alight beam scanning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein saidrotatable member has said magnet concentric with said rotary shaft andthe cross-section thereof with respect to the direction of said rotaryshaft is substantially U-shaped.
 3. A light beam scanning apparatusaccording to claim 1 or 2, wherein said holding means has a positioningmember fixed to said rotary shaft above said rotatable member andmoreover orthogonal to said rotary shaft and engaged with said rotatablepolygonal mirror member, and a resilient member for pressing saidrotatable polygonal mirror member against said positioning member andholding said rotatable polygonal mirror member between it and saidpositioning member, said resilient member being mounted on said rotaryshaft.
 4. A light beam scanning apparatus according to claim 3, whereinsaid supporting means has a first bearing for supporting said rotaryshaft between said holding means and said rotatable member, and a secondbearing for supporting said rotary shaft between said rotatable memberand the lower portion of the body of said apparatus.
 5. A light beamscanning apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the resilient member ofsaid holding means has an engaging portion smaller than the outsidediameter of said rotary shaft and resiliently deformable before it ismounted on said rotary shaft and engageable with said rotary shaft afterit is mounted on said rotary shaft, and a pressing portion for pressingsaid rotatable polygonal mirror member.
 6. A light beam scanningapparatus according to claim 3, wherein the resilient member of saidholding means has a compression spring member and a control member forcontrolling the movement of said compression spring member in adirection away from said rotatable polygonal mirror member.
 7. A lightbeam scanning apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said holding meanshas a positioning member for pressing having a cylindrical portionfitted to said rotary shaft and a restraining portion projectedoutwardly from said cylindrical portion, said resilient memberpositioned between said rotatable polygonal mirror member and saidrestraining portion of said positioning member, and a second resilientmember for pressing said restraining portion of said positioning membertoward said rotatable polygonal mirror member.
 8. A light beam scanningapparatus according to claim 4, further having a compression resilientmember wound on said rotary shaft and disposed between said rotatablemember and said second bearing.
 9. A light beam scanning apparatusaccording to claim 7, wherein said holding means has a keep ring betweensaid second resilient member and said rotatable polygonal mirror member.10. A light beam scanning apparatus comprising;a rotatable polygonalmirror member for scanning a light beam; a rotary shaft; means forholding said rotary shaft and said rotatable polygonal mirror memberintegrally; drive means for rotating said rotary shaft, said drive meanshaving a rotatable member having a magnet and made integral with saidrotary shaft, and a coil member provided on the rotary shaft side withrespect to said rotatable member so as to be opposed to said magnet;means for securing said coil member to the body of said apparatus; andfirst and second bearing means for rotatably supporting said rotaryshaft on the side opposite to said rotatable polygonal mirror memberwith respect to said rotatable member.
 11. A light beam scanningapparatus according to claim 10, wherein said rotatable member has saidmagnet concentric with said rotary shaft and the cross-section thereofwith respect to the direction of said rotary shaft is substantiallyinverted U-shaped, and said rotatable polygonal mirror member isshielded from the magnet of said rotatable member, said coil member andsaid first and second bearing means by said rotatable member.
 12. Alight beam scanning apparatus according to claim 11, wherein saidholding means has a positioning surface made integral with said rotaryshaft and said rotatable member, and a member for pressing saidrotatable polygonal mirror member toward said positioning surface.
 13. Alight beam scanning apparatus according to claim 11 or 12, furtherhaving a side wall surface provided through a small gap relative to thesupporting surface along the rotary shaft of the rotatable memberholding said magnet.
 14. A light beam scanning apparatus according toclaim 13, wherein said rotatable member has a radius of gyration greaterthan the radius of gyration of said rotatable polygonal mirror member.15. A light beam scanning apparatus according to claim 14, having, insuccession from the upper portion thereof with respect to the directionof said rotary shaft, said pressing member, said rotatable polygonalmirror member, said positioning surface, said rotatable member and saidfirst and second bearing means.
 16. A light beam scanning apparatusaccording to claim 15, having, in the central portion thereof withrespect to the radial direction from said rotary shaft, said first andsecond bearing means, said coil member, said magnet, the supportingsurface of said rotatable member and said side wall surface.
 17. A lightbeam scanning apparatus comprising:a rotatable polygonal mirror memberfor scanning a light beam; a rotary shaft; means for holding said rotaryshaft and said rotatable polygonal mirror member integrally; supportmeans provided with first and second bearings for rotatably supportingsaid rotary shaft, said polygonal mirror member, said first bearing andsaid second bearing being arranged on said rotary shaft in the namedorder; drive means for rotating said rotary shaft, said drive meanshaving a rotatable member having a magnet and made integral with saidrotary shaft, and a coil member provided on the rotary shaft side withrespect to said rotatable member so as to be opposed to said magnet,said rotatable member being lubricated with oil and being fixed to saidrotary shaft at a position between the first bearing with lubricant ofsaid support means and said rotatable polygonal mirror member to shieldoil mist created from said first bearing relative to said rotatablepolygonal mirror member; and means for holding said coil member on thebody of said apparatus.
 18. A light beam scanning apparatus according toany one of claims 1, 2, 10, 11 and 17, wherein said holding means has acircular positioning surface fixed to said rotary shaft to receive saidrotatable polygonal mirror member and having a radius smaller than theradius of the lower surface of said rotatable polygonal mirror member.19. A light beam scanning apparatus according to claim 18, wherein saidholding means has on said circular positioning surface a resilientmember for pressing said rotatable polygonal mirror member.
 20. A lightbeam scanning apparatus according to claim 19, wherein said resilientmember of said holding means is provided so as to surround said rotaryshaft so that the pressing surface thereof is substantially coincidentwith said circular positioning surface.
 21. A light beam scanningapparatus according to claim 19, wherein said holding means has apositioning member for pressing having a cylindrical portion fitted tosaid rotary shaft and a restraining portion projected outwardly fromsaid cylindrical portion, said restraining portion being engaged withsaid resilient member.
 22. A light beam scanning apparatus according toclaim 21, wherein said holding means has a control member forcontrolling the movement of said positioning member relative to saidrotatable polygonal mirror member.
 23. A light beam scanning apparatusaccording to claim 22, wherein the acting portions of said resilientmember, said positioning member and said control member, respectively,are positioned on the rotary shaft side within the size of said circularpositioning surface.
 24. A light beam scanning apparatus comprising:arotatable polygonal mirror member for scanning a light beam; a rotaryshaft; means for holding said rotary shaft and said rotatable polygonalmirror member integrally; means for rotatably supporting said rotaryshaft; and drive means for rotating said rotary shaft, said drive meansbeing provided with a rotatable member having a magnet and made integralwith said rotary shaft, and a coil member provided on the rotary shaftside with respect to said rotatable member so as to be opposed to saidmagnet, the radius of gyration of said rotatable member being greaterthan the radius of gyration of said rotatable polygonal mirror member.25. A light beam scanning apparatus according to claim 24, wherein saidholding means has a positioning surface for holding said rotatablepolygonal mirror member, said positioning surface being inside theradius of gyration of said rotatable polygonal mirror member and beingsmaller in area than said rotatable polygonal mirror member.
 26. A lightbeam scanning apparatus according to claim 25, wherein said holdingmeans has pressing means for pressing said rotatable polygonal mirrormember toward said positioning surface.
 27. A light beam scanningapparatus according to claim 26, wherein said pressing means is aresilient member.
 28. A light beam scanning apparatus according to claim27, wherein said resilient member of said holding means is provided soas to surround said rotary shaft so that the pressing surface thereof issubstantially coincident with said positioning surface.
 29. A light beamscanning apparatus according to claim 28, wherein said holding means hasa positioning member for pressing having a cylindrical portion fitted tosaid rotary shaft and a restraining portion projected outwardly fromsaid cylindrical portion, said restraining portion being engaged withsaid resilient member.
 30. A light beam scanning apparatus according toclaim 29, wherein said holding means has a control member forcontrolling the movement of said positioning member relative to saidrotatable polygonal mirror member.
 31. A light beam scanning apparatusaccording to claim 30, wherein the acting portions of said resilientmember, said positioning member and said control member, respectively,are positioned on the rotary shaft side within the size of saidpositioning surface.
 32. A light beam scanning apparatus according toclaim 31, wherein said resilient member is a wave washer.
 33. A lightbeam scanning apparatus according to any one of claims 24 to 32, whereinsaid supporting means has two bearings with lubricant for supportingsaid rotary shaft, said bearings being positioned on the side oppositeto said rotatable polygonal mirror member with respect to said rotatablemember.
 34. A light beam scanning apparatus according to any one ofclaims 24 to 32, wherein said positioning surface is a surface madeintegral with said rotatable member.
 35. A light beam scanning apparatusaccording to claim 33, wherein said positioning surface is a surfacemade integral with said rotatable member.
 36. A light beam scanningapparatus according to claim 35, wherein said positioning surface is acircular surface made integral with said rotary shaft.
 37. A light beamscanning apparatus according to claim 34, wherein said positioningsurface is a circular surface made integral with said rotary shaft..Iadd.
 38. A light beam scanning apparatus comprising:a rotating memberwhich is rotatable in one direction including a rotary shaft, a rotatingmirror member for scanning a light beam, said rotating mirror memberbeing disposed at a distal end of the rotary shaft, and a rotor memberfor rotating said rotating member, the rotor member being disposedadjacent to said rotating mirror member; and bearing means for rotatablybearing said rotary shaft said bearing means being lubricated by oil andbeing provided at an opposite side to said rotating mirror member withrespect to said rotor member..Iaddend. .Iadd.39. A light beam scanningapparatus according to claim 38, wherein said rotor member has a largerradius of gyration than said rotating mirror member..Iaddend. .Iadd.40.A light beam scanning apparatus according to claim 38, wherein saidbearing means comprises first and second bearing members which areprovided at an opposite side relative to said rotating mirror memberwith respect to said rotor member..Iaddend. .Iadd.41. A light beamscanning apparatus according to claim 40, wherein said first and secondbearing members each comprises a ball bearing..Iaddend. .Iadd.42. Alight beam scanning apparatus according to claim 38, wherein said rotormember further includes a reference plane for attaching thereto saidrotating mirror member, said rotating mirror member being fixed to thereference plane by being resiliently pressed..Iaddend. .Iadd.43. A lightbeam scanning apparatus according to claim 38, wherein said rotor memberhas a magnet..Iaddend. .Iadd.44. A light beam scanning apparatuscomprising:a rotating member which is rotatable in one direction andincludes a rotary shaft, a polygonal mirror member for scanning a lightbeam, and a rotor member for rotating the rotating member; and thepolygonal mirror member having a smaller radius of gyration than that ofthe rotor member..Iaddend. .Iadd.45. A light beam scanning apparatusaccording to claim 44, wherein said rotor member has a surface forpositioning said polygonal mirror member, to which surface saidpolygonal mirror member is pressed to be fixed..Iaddend. .Iadd.46. Alight beam scanning apparatus according to claim 44, wherein said rotormember is equi-diametrical disc-shaped..Iaddend. .Iadd.47. A light beamscanning apparatus according to claim 44, wherein said rotor membercomprises a magnet..Iaddend. .Iadd.48. A light beam scanning apparatusaccording to claim 1, 10, 17, 24, 38, or 44, said apparatus being usedfor an exposure light source for effecting image-exposure to a movablelight sensitive member of a laser beam printer..Iaddend.